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Vijay Mallya's defence during his extradition trial today claimed that a consortium of Indian banks led by State Bank of India (SBI) rejected an offer by the liquor baron in early 2016 to pay back nearly 80 per cent of the principal loan amount owed to them.

Mallya’s offer to pay back chunk of loan was rejected by banks, claims defence

Vijay Mallya’s defence during his extradition trial today claimed that a consortium of Indian banks led by State Bank of India (SBI) rejected an offer by the liquor baron in early 2016 to pay back nearly 80 per cent of the principal loan amount owed to them. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) – arguing on behalf of the Indian government – countered that assertion, indicating that the reason such a repayment offer would have been rejected was that the banks knew Mallya had the means to pay back the entire amount due. The 61-year-old businessman returned to the dock for day three of his extradition trial at Westminster Magistrates’ Court in London to determine whether he can be forced to return to India to face charges of fraud and money laundering allegedly amounting to around Rs 9,000 crores.

RK Nagar: 59 candidates in fray, tough contest on cards

A fierce contest is on the cards for the December 21 RK Nagar bypoll with 59 candidates, including those of ruling AIADMK, DMK and BJP besides sidelined leader TTV Dhinakaran, left in the fray at close of withdrawal of nominations today. According to the final list posted on the website of the Tamil Nadu Chief Electoral Officer, a total of 72 nominations were accepted and out of it 13 nominees withdrew, leaving 59 candidates, including a woman, in the contest.
Election authorities notifying free symbols for independents announced ‘pressure cooker’ symbol for Dhinakaran.

Death toll mounts to 36; search operations to be extended to International waters

Three bodies were recovered today off the Kerala coast, taking the death toll due to Cyclone Ockhi to 36, even as defence sources said search and rescue operations will be extended to International waters around Maldives. Defence sources said this followed a request from some fishermen from Tamil Nadu’s Kanyakumari district. The fishermen requested the Southern Air Command here to extend the search operations to international waters to trace 72 boats with 1200 fishermen who may have drifted due to the cyclone, the sources said. The state government approached the Centre with the request of the fishermen following which the Defence Ministry has approved sending of C-130J Hercules transport aircraft around Maldives by tomorrow morning, they said.

Notifications for linking Aadhaar with bank a/c, PAN, SIM valid’

The UIDAI, the authority which issues Aadhaar, today said that the notifications (rpt) notifications for verifying bank accounts, PAN cards and mobile SIM cards with the biometric ID are valid and there is no change in them.
While the deadline for verifying bank accounts and income tax Permanent Account Number (PAN) by providing Aadhaar is December 31 and for SIM cards is February 6, the Centre has told the Supreme Court that it is willing to extend the timelines till March 31, 2018. The UIDAI said the deadlines agreed in the court will be the valid timelines for verifications.

Kumbh Mela intangible cultural heritage of humanity: UNESCO

India’s Kumbh Mela has been recognised by UNESCO as an “intangible cultural heritage of humanity” and held up as the world’s largest peaceful gathering of pilgrims. The external affairs ministry today said the recognition was accorded by the Inter-governmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, an entity which works under UNESCO. The decision to recognise the Kumbh Mela was taken at its ongoing meeting in Jeju, South Korea. The inscription of the Kumbh Mela was recommended by the expert body which examines the nominations submitted by member states. The committee observed it was the largest peaceful congregation of pilgrims on earth.

UAV crosses China border after tech problem: India, Beijing protests

An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) of the Indian Army crashed around Dokalam in the Sikkim sector after it “crossed” the border into China following a technical problem, prompting Beijing to lodge a diplomatic protest with India. Sources in Delhi said today that the Indian security forces in Nathu La immediately informed the Chinese army over the hotline about the UAV’s technical problem and crossing the Line of Actual Control(LAC). The Indian defence ministry said its border security personnel, as per standard protocol, immediately alerted their Chinese counterparts to locate the UAV and they later reverted with its location. It, however, did not give details of when the UAV had crashed but sources in Delhi said the incident happened around 10 days ago.